Today will prove to be a significant anniversary for naval historians in Britian as a US Navy ship that spent a large part of her working life in the UK meets her end.

For two periods up until 1987 she was a familiar sight on the Clyde's Holy Loch, being stationed there as the submarine tender for the US submarine fleet, but now she is to be scrapped.

USS HUNLEY is departing from the James River Fleet today (in fact, as this is being written) on her last voyage. She will make her way to New Orleans and will be, in modern euphemistic terms, recycled. In other words, the old girl is off to get scrapped.

She was launched September 28th, 1961 at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., and commissioned into the US Navy on June 16th, 1962.

She arrived a year later to take up her role as submarine support vessel in the Scottish loch and stayed there until 1966 when relieved by the USS SIMON LAKE.

HUNLEY returned in 1982 and remained there until 1987 until once again replaced by USS SIMON LAKE which proved to be the last US submarine tender to be stationed in the Holy Loch.

HUNLEY was decommissioned in 1994 and has been part of the now diminishing Ghost Fleet in the James River since 3rd May 1995. And now, today, she is making her way out of the James River, past her place of birth and into the pages of history, a history that spans the Atlantic and kindles memories for US servicemen and the people of the Holy Loch area alike.